Metropolitan Stories by Christine Coulson 208 pages
I’m
not a huge television watcher, but I do enjoy watching the behind-the-scenes
shows at zoos. Watchers get to take a peek behind the curtain at what it takes
to care for the thousands of animals in their care. Fascinating stuff.
I
feel the same way about Christine Coulson’s new novel, “Metropolitian Stories.”
From a writer who worked at that renown institution for more than 25 years, reads
are taken through to the offices, the storage rooms, the cafeteria and what
seems to a million-mile labyrinth of hallways that connect the myriad of
buildings, galleries and studios. On the down side, I had no real idea of where
the vignettes were actually happening, and that confused me a bit. But it didn’t
stop me from reading.
I loved all the stories, but my favorite is “Meats
and Cheeses.” It involves a 4,000-year-old leg of lamb. The narrator, Kate, is
on a mission of a different kind, but winds up in a room full of hats---all
types from pith helmets to straw boaters. Hebe and Helen, who work in the room,
are a
riot.
It seems that Kate’s, who has only been with the Met about a year, main job is
to deliver the yellow interoffice envelopes known as “cheeses.” She is following
a hand-drawn map and trying to get a sign off for a China exhibition’s title
wall. I won’t write anymore as I may
give it away, but Kate’s adventures through the maze of hallways looking for a
blue door is the perfect story for readers to understand the complexity of
working at the Met.
Light-hearted,
full of whimsy and just plain fun, I give “Metropolitan Stories” 4 out of 5 stars in
Julie’s world.
